Seoul says it held nuclear talks with Russia despite Moscow's denial SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - South Korea reportedly held talks with Russia to discuss multiple issues including North Korea's nuclear weapons program. According to diplomatic sources, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official handling North Korea-related issues traveled to Moscow and met with Oleg Burmistrov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's special envoy for North Korea's nuclear issues. Apart from a foreign ministers' meeting in September this year, this was the first gathering of nuclear officials since bilateral relations worsened after North Korea's troop deployment to Russia in October last year, drawing attention for possible changes. Observers believe South Korea urged Russia to play a "constructive role" in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula. During the meeting, Seoul likely raised concerns about military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, which violates UN Security Council resolutions, and also discussed efforts to bring an end to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Russia, however, denied the meeting, calling it an attempt to sow distrust between Moscow and Pyongyang, apparently mindful of North Korea. According to the Kremlin's state-run news agency TASS, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in the statement, "The opponents of our cooperation with North Korea do not abandon their futile attempts to drive a wedge into the Russian-Korean comprehensive strategic partnership and sow distrust between the allied countries and the peoples of Russia and North Korea." She added, "Russia does not hold any consultations with the South Korean side, does not discuss with it any topics affecting bilateral relations between Pyongyang and Seoul, much less the 'North Korean nuclear problem' because there is no 'North Korean nuclear problem' for Russia.'" 2025-12-22 13:41:31

Korean sets record 20-day exports Dec, chips make up a third of total exports SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) -South Korea posted a record for first 20-day monthly exports in December, driven by a 42-percent jump in chip shipments that now account for nearly a third of total exports, customs-cleared preliminary data showed Monday. According to the Korea Customs Service, exports for Dec. 1–20 climbed 6.8 percent from a year earlier to US$43.03 billion, marking a fresh record for the first 20-day period. Average daily exports, adjusted for working days, rose 3.6 percent to US$2.61 billion. At a daily average of about US$2.6 billion for the full year, annual exports are on track to set a new milestone of US$700 billion. Semiconductors led the gains, jumping 41.8 percent. Chips accounted for 27.1 percent of total exports, up 6.7 percentage points from a year earlier. Semiconductor exports have risen for nine consecutive months through November, supported by strong demand for high-value memory used in artificial intelligence data centers and by higher memory prices. Computer peripherals surged 49.1 percent, while wireless communications equipment rose 17.8 percent. Passenger car and ship exports fell 12.7 percent and 21.7 percent, respectively. Shipments to the United States slipped 1.7 percent, weighed down by higher tariffs. Exports increased to China by 6.5 percent, Vietnam by 20.4 percent and Taiwan by 9.6 percent. Imports totaled US$39.21 billion, up 0.7 percent from a year earlier. By item, imports of semiconductors rose 11.8 percent, machinery 3.5 percent and precision instruments 12.5 percent, while crude oil fell 3.2 percent and gas declined 15.0 percent. By source, imports from China rose 3.9 percent, the United States 14.7 percent and Taiwan 12.8 percent, while those from the European Union fell 3.8 percent and Japan 2.3 percent. The trade surplus so far in December stood at US$3.8 billion. 2025-12-22 13:34:18

Santa rally reaches Asia, led by chip stocks SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - Asian markets opened the week on signs of a “Santa Claus rally,” as a key overhang — Japan’s long-anticipated rate hike — was cleared last week, reviving risk appetite across the region. Chip stocks led the advance after strong earnings from Micron Technology and fresh optimism around high-bandwidth memory (HBM), reinforcing the global AI-driven semiconductor rally. In Seoul, the benchmark KOSPI was up 1.97 percent at 4,099 as of 10 a.m., raising hopes the index could close above the psychologically important 4,100 mark for the first time in ten days. Institutional investors spearheaded the rally with net purchases of 776.4 billion won ($525 million), supported by foreign inflows of 344.0 billion won. Retail investors appeared to be locking in gains after recent volatility, net selling 1.1 trillion won. The Korean won strengthened modestly to 1,477 per dollar, up 4 won from the previous close. Market participants attributed the move to year-end currency hedging by the National Pension Service and institutional investors seeking to lock in exchange rates ahead of the Dec. 30 market close. Blue chips traded broadly higher. Samsung Electronics gained 3 percent to 110,000 won after reports that its HBM4 samples received top-tier evaluations in quality tests for Nvidia. Rival SK hynix, the market leader in HBM, surged 4.75 percent to 575,000 won, emerging as a primary beneficiary of the improving AI memory outlook alongside Micron’s upbeat results. Korea Zinc, the world’s leading non-ferrous metal smelter and a focal point of ongoing corporate governance disputes, rose 5.4 percent to 1,380,000 won. Uncertainty surrounding its U.S. refinery investment eased after the South Korean government expressed a favorable stance, while Chairman Choi Yoon-bum and the Young Poong–MBK alliance reaffirmed their commitment to the project. Doosan Enerbility, seen as a bellwether for nuclear power and small modular reactors (SMRs), rose 2.2 percent to 79,000 won, defying lingering caution over a potential AI-sector bubble. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 jumped 2.1 percent to 50,557, as the removal of Bank of Japan-related uncertainty combined with Micron-led tech optimism to trigger broad-based buying. Semiconductor equipment makers led the gains. Tokyo Electron surged 6.3 percent to 33,160 yen ($210.7), while Advantest rose 3.5 percent, DISCO gained 4.8 percent, and Ibiden climbed 5.2 percent. Financial and holding companies also found favor, with SoftBank Group Corp. jumping 6.4 percent to 18,210 yen, buoyed by the BOJ’s rate move and easing AI-bubble concerns in New York. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group advanced 2.3 percent. Taiwan’s TAIEX rose 1.4 percent to 28,084, anchored by a 2.1 percent gain in TSMC, which traded at 1,460 Taiwan dollars ($46.33). MediaTek slipped 0.7 percent, while Foxconn edged up 0.7 percent. Mainland China showed a tech-led divergence. The Shenzhen Component Index rose 1.1 percent to 13,285, outperforming the more domestically focused Shanghai Composite’s 0.5 percent gain and the Hang Seng Index’s 0.3 percent rise. 2025-12-22 11:51:42

Lee praises badminton star An Se-young's historic win SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung praised South Korean players for their achievements at the BWF World Tour Finals, which wrapped up over the weekend. Shortly after badminton ace An Se-young's victory late Sunday night, Lee wrote on Facebook that the national anthem was played three times in Hangzhou, China, saying he was "very proud" of her and other players and calling 2025 "the year of South Korean badminton." The world No. 1 in women's singles became the first female badminton player to achieve 11 wins in a single season, tying the 2019 record set by former Japanese player Kento Momota. With 73 victories out of 77 matches, she earned a total of US$1,003,175 (about 1.49 billion won), surpassing $1 million for the first time. Meanwhile, in men's doubles, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho also claimed victory, achieving 11 wins in a single season, setting a new record and becoming the first South Korean men's doubles pair to achieve the feat in 37 years. Lee lauded Seo's winning tally, which rises to 12 when including the Thailand Masters earlier this year, calling it the most individual titles won in a single season in world badminton history. In women's doubles, Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na beat Japan to win their second straight title at the tournament. 2025-12-22 11:08:13

Hyosung Heavy wins European power equipment orders worth $170 million SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - South Korea's Hyosung Heavy Industries has secured a series of new orders for extra-high-voltage power equipment across Europe. The company said on Monday it won contracts worth more than 230 billion won ($170 million) this month in key European markets including the United Kingdom, Sweden and Spain, citing rising investment in power grids as countries accelerate energy transitions. In the United Kingdom, Hyosung Heavy Industries recently signed a supply contract worth about 120 billion won with Scottish Power Energy Networks, Scotland’s electricity distribution network operator, to provide extra-high-voltage transformers. The equipment will be used in a major wind power-related project aligned with the country's Net Zero policy, the company said in a press release. The company is also expanding its footprint elsewhere in Europe. It said it secured an order worth about 50 billion won this month from a major Swedish power distribution company for extra-high-voltage transformers, and separately won a contract in Norway. In Spain, Hyosung Heavy Industries also signed supply contracts worth about 60 billion won with leading power and energy companies to deliver transformers and reactors. The Spanish contracts mark the company’s first entry into southern Europe, it said. Hyosung Heavy Industries noted that Europe’s extra-high-voltage transformer market is dominated by established global players, making market entry challenging without advanced technology. The company said it strengthened its technical credentials this year by passing a short-circuit test for extra-high-voltage transformers conducted by France’s electricity transmission system operator. 2025-12-22 10:54:06

South Korea's NCSoft pivots to casual games with two acquisitions SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - South Korean game developer NCSoft said on Monday it is stepping up its push into the global mobile casual game market, announcing two acquisitions to seek new growth beyond its traditional focus on massively multiplayer online role-playing games. NCSoft, led by co-chief executive officers Kim Taek-jin and Park Byung-moo, said it will acquire global mobile casual game developer Lihuhu Games and South Korean studio Springcomes as part of a portfolio diversification strategy. The company said it will purchase a 67 percent stake in Indigo Group, a Singapore-based firm that owns Lihuhu Games, for about 153.4 billion won ($103.9 million), making NCSoft the largest shareholder. Lihuhu Games, headquartered in Vietnam, has released about 100 titles across genres including match-3D, number-based and “hole” puzzle games. More than 80 percent of its revenue comes from North America and Europe, NCSoft said. The developer projects revenue of about 120 billion won and operating profit of around 30 billion won this year. Springcomes focuses on the merge-game genre and is known for its rapid development cycle, typically launching four to five new titles a year. The studio expects its revenue this year to more than double from a year earlier to about 28 billion won, NCSoft said. To integrate its expanded casual-game portfolio, NCSoft has established the Mobile Casual Center. The company said it appointed Arnel Cheman to lead the unit and recruited additional data and user-acquisition specialists, including Anthony Pascal. NCSoft also said it has secured a software license from European analytics firm Codebase to build a data analytics and live-operations platform. Park said the acquisition of Lihuhu Games was significant in that it established a foundation for “visible growth” in the global mobile casual market. He added that NCSoft plans to strengthen its international competitiveness through further acquisitions of European studios and an expanded publishing business. The company said it plans to announce a more comprehensive business strategy related to its mobile casual push early next year. 2025-12-22 10:19:24

DP to push controversial bill for special tribunal on martial law case SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - The ruling Democratic Party (DP) is expected to push through a bill for a special tribunal to handle insurrection cases related to disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law debacle last year. The DP is set to submit the controversial bill to the plenary session of the National Assembly this week, despite concerns that it may be unconstitutional and could undermine judicial independence and fairness. Amid criticism, the DP earlier made revisions to the bill including removing direct references to Yoon in an attempt to deflect allegations of solely targeting his botched Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, but the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) remains determined to block it with a filibuster. But the DP, which holds a majority in the National Assembly, can vote to end a filibuster after 24 hours. 2025-12-22 09:58:37

KAIST researchers develop AI to automate plastic manufacturing and train new workers SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - Professor Yoo Seung-hwa and his research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed an artificial intelligence system that can automatically manage factory machines and guide workers. The technology was created to help factories maintain production quality as experienced experts retire and more foreign workers enter the workforce, potentially creating language barriers on the factory floor. Most plastic items used today are made through a process called injection molding. This involves melting plastic and pouring it into a mold to create many identical parts at once. However, the process is very sensitive. Small changes in room temperature or humidity can cause the plastic parts to come out with defects. For a long time, factories have relied on the "gut feeling" of highly experienced workers to manually adjust the machine settings when the weather or conditions change. The research team at the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Inno-Core PRISM-AI Center created two main tools to solve this problem. The first is a generative AI engine that acts like an expert's brain. It looks at the factory’s current environment, such as the humidity level, and automatically calculates the perfect pressure and speed for the machine. The second tool is a digital assistant called "IM-Chat." This chatbot uses a large language model to answer questions from workers in plain language. When a worker asks the chatbot a question, such as "What is the best pressure when the humidity is 43.5 percent?", the system does not just give a random answer. It automatically triggers the AI engine to do the math and then provides the worker with the exact settings along with an explanation from the factory's technical manuals. Because the system supports multiple languages, it allows newer or foreign workers to make the same high-level decisions as a human expert who has worked in the factory for decades. During testing, the AI proved to be much more reliable than older technology. Previous AI models used for this work often had error rates between 23 and 44 percent. The new system developed by the KAIST team reduced that error rate to just 1.63 percent. In real-world factory tests, the machine settings suggested by the AI successfully produced high-quality parts without any human help. "This is a case where we solved the core problems of manufacturing by using data-based AI," said Professor Yoo Seung-hwa. "By combining an AI that can optimize the factory process on its own with a system that can explain that knowledge to anyone, we hope to make many different types of industries more independent and automated." The researchers believe this technology can be used for more than just plastic. It could eventually be applied to making batteries, 3D printing, and even medicine. The project was a collaboration between several researchers, including doctoral students Kim Jun-young, Kim Hee-gyu, and Lee Jun-hyeong, who served as co-first authors. The work was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Journal: Journal of Manufacturing Systems (JCR 1/69, IF 14.2) Title: Development of an Injection Molding Production Condition Inference System Based on Diffusion Model DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2025.01.008 Journal: Journal of Manufacturing Systems (JCR 1/69, IF 14.2) Title: IM-Chat: A multi-agent LLM framework integrating tool-calling and diffusion modeling for knowledge transfer in injection molding industry DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2025.11.007 2025-12-22 09:47:37

Samsung Biologics acquires GSK biopharmaceutical plant in U.S. for $280 million SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - Samsung Biologics said Monday it has signed an agreement with GSK plc to acquire a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland, marking the South Korean contract drugmaker's first production foothold in the United States. The deal, valued at about $280 million, will see Samsung Biologics America, a U.S. subsidiary, take over the 60,000-liter drug substance plant formerly operated by Human Genome Sciences. The asset transfer is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. The Rockville facility, nestled in the heart of Maryland's biotechnology cluster, comprises two manufacturing buildings capable of supporting antibody drug production from clinical trials through commercial scale. Samsung Biologics will retain all 500 employees at the site and inherit existing production contracts, securing a stable pipeline of large-scale contract manufacturing orders. The acquisition establishes a dual production network linking Samsung Biologics' headquarters in Songdo, South Korea, with the new U.S. base, enabling the company to offer clients greater flexibility and supply chain resilience amid shifting regional regulatory landscapes. The expanded footprint comes as Samsung Biologics recently bolstered its domestic capacity with an additional 1,000-liter bioreactor at its second plant, bringing total production capacity in Songdo to 785,000 liters across five facilities. "This landmark acquisition is a testament to our unwavering commitment to advancing global healthcare and bolstering our manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. The investment will enable us to deepen our collaboration with federal, state, and local stakeholders to best serve our customers and partners while ensuring a reliable and stable supply of life-saving therapeutics," said John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics. Regis Simard, president of global supply chain at GSK, said the transaction ensures continued U.S.-based production of critical medicines for American patients. "This deal enables us to further focus on building the agility, capacity and capability needed in our manufacturing network to deliver the next generation of specialty medicines and vaccines," he said. 2025-12-22 09:47:19

Estonia taps Hanwha Aerospace's Chunmoo rocket system in $320 mil. arms deal SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - Hanwha Aerospace has signed a contract worth about 440 billion won ($320 million) to supply its Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher system to Estonia, the company said on Monday. Under the agreement, Hanwha Aerospace will deliver six Chunmoo launcher systems along with three types of guided missiles with ranges of 80 kilometers, 160 kilometers and 290 kilometers. The company said it plans to pursue localization in Estonia, including partial local production and the provision of maintenance, repair and overhaul services, as European defense procurement becomes increasingly bloc-oriented. The deal was underpinned by technology validated through exports and operational deployment of its K9 self-propelled howitzer, as well as South Korea’s defense diplomacy. It cited a memorandum of understanding signed in October between the defense ministries of South Korea and Estonia on the acquisition of the Chunmoo system as a key step toward the contract. Katri Rausepp, a senior official at Estonia’s defense investment agency, said the agreement would help strengthen the country’s military capabilities amid heightened regional security concerns. “In a rapidly changing security environment, securing strong and rapid response capabilities is Estonia’s top security priority,” she said in a press release, adding that the introduction of the Chunmoo system would significantly enhance Estonia’s defense posture. Son Jae-il, chief executive officer of Hanwha Aerospace, said the contract followed the earlier export of the K9 howitzer and reflected continued trust from the Estonian government and military. “Working closely with the South Korean government, we will continue efforts to expand into new defense export markets,” Son said. Hanwha Aerospace said it aims to use the Estonia deal as a foothold to market the Chunmoo system across the Baltics and northern Europe, including Norway, Latvia and Lithuania. 2025-12-22 09:45:25